Everything Changes When Perfect Becomes A Player
by Flock-Member7
Summary: A strange new ninja has made his home in the leaf village and has captured the attention of every girl. It doesn't take long before Naruto and the gang realizes that there's something off about this guy. Better description inside.
1. Chapter 1: Chunin Preview

**ATTENTION!! PLEASE READ ALL AUTHOR NOTES DESCRIPTIONS AND OTHER WARNINGS, AND REVIEW!!**

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Authors Note:**

Dear Readers.

I'm not sure if any of you remember me but I used to be a regular author here. I'd like to start again and start writing again but here' the problem. I no longer live with my dad, I live with my mom and we have no Internet. So it's pretty rare for me to get on-line. So uh yeah. If there are any updates, they may take a while. Sorry.

But anyway, I'm back and starting fresh. I'm changing my focus tho, instead of Maximum Ride I'm going to write Naruto YAY! Maybe a little Max on the side who knows.

SO that's what this is, a new story, about Naruto. YAY! I love Naruto.

Love

Flock-Member7

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Description: **

Who's the new kid? Well whoever he is he's treading on very dangerous territory. A new ninja has moved into town, a very smart, charismatic, beautiful, ambitious, talented, tough Chunin who's perfectness captures the attention of all the girls even Sasuke-stalker Sakura and the ever shy but powerful Hinata. Not only are our favorite leaf ninja boys feeling a little neglected but now this new kid is starting to outdo all of them. Outsmarting Shikamaru, Outlasting Lee, better tracking than Kiba, even better looking and stronger than Sasuke, more talented than Neji, end more ambitious than Naruto, Yet something about him is creepier than Shino, and he even eats more than Choji!! And yet his body is perfect!! It doesn't take long before the boys realize something about this guy just isn't right. Can the boys overcome their differences, team up, and expose this creep for the faker he is? A mission to beat all missions they set out to seek help from the Hidden Sand Village, and some one, wont be making it back home.

**Disclaimer:**

People, People, Please, this is _**FAN fiction **_and I most certainly DO NOT own Naruto, duh, But I do however own my laptop, my cat, my bed, and this fan fic, so enjoy.

**Dedication:**

I dedicate this complicated fan fic to my best friend and fellow Naruto fanatic, Alyssa. Keep moving forward Shika-Lover and never look back.

**WARNING:**

Rated T/Teen for mild romance, violence, language, and character death.

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Bare feet fondled each other under the warmth of a thick brown blanket, a yawn and a moan escaped from the lips of the blond childish boy as he turned to his side in his restless sleep. The first rays of dawn's light pooled at the end of his bed where his feet fidgeted, even in his slumber the boy couldn't keep still to save his life. Part of the problem was his spirit. It was just the way he was, if he wasn't training or on an overly dangerous mission higher than his rank will permit, he's off throwing pranks around like a sport. He was an energetic little punk with a heart of gold. But the other half of him comes from the demon spirit inside his body. Even though it consumed his energy like a ravenous wolf it provided him with bursts of artificial energy and unimaginable power. Yet underneath it was a very ambitious hard working ninja who only wanted to be recognized as Hokage, and not a monster.

Slowly the light crept up the blanket following the out line of Naruto's body, warming his legs, then his thighs, moving further up to cover his bare, but scarred chest. Naruto hissed as the blanket became too much and he kicked it off tossing around the bed, his body knowing it was time to wake, his mind begging to sleep just a little longer. The light made it's way up his neck and spilled over onto his face poking it's way under his eyelids. This aggravated Naruto and he groaned in irritation. He opend his eyes to slits and glanced down to his covering that he had tossed to the floor. He let his hand slip off the bed and brush the soft blanket. He reached out and gripped it in his tired fingers. Then he rolled to the other side pulling the blanket up with him over his head to shield his eyes from the persistent sun. He sighed as he tried to fall asleep once more.

But in the shadows of Naruto's quiet little home a figure sat and watched him as he slept. He sat hunched forward resting his elbows on his parted knees, his fingers laced together as he fixed his dark eyes patiently on Naruto's lean body. He waited, watching the light wake his target he smirked waiting for Naruto to spot him. But as Naruto pulled the blanket over his face the boy in the shadows sighed and rolled his synchronizing with the blonde's contented sigh. Sure, he could sit there all day watching, waiting, planning, but today he didn't have the time, and unfortunately neither did Naruto. Shikamaru stood and walked over to the side of Naruto's bed. He reached down and ripped the blanket from Naruto's grip and tossed it to the side. Startled Naruto sat up bolt straight.

"WAHH! What the-!" Naruto cried.

"Get your lazy ass out of bed, you're late Naruto." Shikamaru hissed.

Naruto glared up at Shikamaru when he registered what was going on. "Shikamaru you jerk! What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Shikamaru took a familiar stance putting his hands together to form a hand sign. "I said get up. You're going to be late for your ignition. You do want to be Chunin right? You're the only one in our class who _isn't_, little Genin." Naruto's eye's brightened as he remembered what today was. He'd done the training, gone through the Chunin exam all over again and passed. Today he would finaly be a Chunin. "Now," Shikamaru continued. "Get up, don't make me use this." Shikamaru's shadow started to move toward Naruto's own Shadow. But before Shikamaru could lock on Naruto had bolted up and was running to his closet. He slid on the hardwood floor and came to a clattering halt, crashing into his closet sending clothes flying. Within seconds Naruto was already scrambling out pulling on his shirt as he ran for the door. He came to a stop in the kitchen and stood there in front of his cupboard staring up at the bowels and bowels of instant ramen. He contemplated wheather he had time to eat or not. The tempting cups seemed to call his name and his mouth watered as he tought of the delicious noodles and broth sliding down his throat as he scarfed it all down like usual. But finally he shook his head and made his way for the door.

"I'll eat later." he decided. He met Shikamaru at the door his excitement overwhelming. He whipped the door open then without another thought he disappeared. He was on his way and there was no stopping him now. Shikamaru slowly walked out from Naruto's house closing the door behind him. He sighed and shook his head as he made his own way at his own pace. He had no need to rush and Naruto's excitement tired him.

"Great, Naruto as a Chunin, this will be a drag."

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Author's Note:**

Now this is only a small preview chapter just to get the story started. If you really want to know what happens I highly suggest you review. Tell all your friends about this story and tell them not to leave without leaving a review. I expect 10 before I will continue. Thanks for your support.


	2. Chapter 1: Chunin

**Author's Note:**

Dear Readers,

Ok so here is the full chapter 1. Read the rest and tell me what you think. ^^

Love

Flock-Member

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Bare feet fondled each other under the warmth of a thick brown blanket, a yawn and a moan escaped from the lips of the blond childish boy as he turned to his side in his restless sleep. The first rays of dawn's light pooled at the end of his bed where his feet fidgeted, even in his slumber the boy couldn't keep still to save his life. Part of the problem was his spirit. It was just the way he was, if he wasn't training or on an overly dangerous mission higher than his rank will permit, he's off throwing pranks around like a sport. He was an energetic little punk with a heart of gold. But the other half of him comes from the demon spirit inside his body. Even though it consumed his energy like a ravenous wolf it provided him with bursts of artificial energy and unimaginable power. Yet underneath it was a very ambitious hard working ninja who only wanted to be recognized as Hokage, and not a monster.

Slowly the light crept up the blanket following the out line of Naruto's body, warming his legs, then his thighs, moving further up to cover his bare, but scarred chest. Naruto hissed as the blanket became too much and he kicked it off tossing around the bed, his body knowing it was time to wake, his mind begging to sleep just a little longer. The light made it's way up his neck and spilled over onto his face poking it's way under his eyelids. This aggravated Naruto and he groaned in irritation. He opend his eyes to slits and glanced down to his covering that he had tossed to the floor. He let his hand slip off the bed and brush the soft blanket. He reached out and gripped it in his tired fingers. Then he rolled to the other side pulling the blanket up with him over his head to shield his eyes from the persistent sun. He sighed as he tried to fall asleep once more.

But in the shadows of Naruto's quiet little home a figure sat and watched him as he slept. He sat hunched forward resting his elbows on his parted knees, his fingers laced together as he fixed his dark eyes patiently on Naruto's lean body. He waited, watching the light wake his target he smirked waiting for Naruto to spot him. But as Naruto pulled the blanket over his face the boy in the shadows sighed and rolled his synchronizing with the blonde's contented sigh. Sure, he could sit there all day watching, waiting, planning, but today he didn't have the time, and unfortunately neither did Naruto. Shikamaru stood and walked over to the side of Naruto's bed. He reached down and ripped the blanket from Naruto's grip and tossed it to the side. Startled Naruto sat up bolt straight.

"WAHH! What the-!" Naruto cried.

"Get your lazy ass out of bed, you're late Naruto." Shikamaru hissed.

Naruto glared up at Shikamaru when he registered what was going on. "Shikamaru you jerk! What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Shikamaru took a familiar stance putting his hands together to form a hand sign. "I said get up. You're going to be late for your ignition. You do want to be Chunin right? You're the only one in our class who _isn't_, little Genin." Naruto's eye's brightened as he remembered what today was. He'd done the training, gone through the Chunin exam all over again and passed. Today he would finaly be a Chunin. "Now," Shikamaru continued. "Get up, don't make me use this." Shikamaru's shadow started to move toward Naruto's own Shadow. But before Shikamaru could lock on Naruto had bolted up and was running to his closet. He slid on the hardwood floor and came to a clattering halt, crashing into his closet sending clothes flying. Within seconds Naruto was already scrambling out pulling on his shirt as he ran for the door. He came to a stop in the kitchen and stood there in front of his cupboard staring up at the bowels and bowels of instant ramen. He contemplated wheather he had time to eat or not. The tempting cups seemed to call his name and his mouth watered as he tought of the delicious noodles and broth sliding down his throat as he scarfed it all down like usual. But finally he shook his head and made his way for the door.

"I'll eat later." he decided. He met Shikamaru at the door his excitement overwhelming. He whipped the door open then without another thought he disappeared. He was on his way and there was no stopping him now. Shikamaru slowly walked out from Naruto's house closing the door behind him. He sighed and shook his head as he made his own way at his own pace. He had no need to rush and Naruto's excitement tired him.

"Great, Naruto as a Chunin, this will be a drag."

When you listen, when you open your ears and listen very closely on this particular day, do you know what you will hear? Nothing. The streets were completely deserted as the young blond boy walked down them. _Almost _complete silence drifted through the air, the boy's foot steps crunching on the gravel beneath were the only noise to be heard. All the shops, restaurants, and even houses were emptied of all life. In every window there were large signs with big red letters reading "Sorry, We're closed". Most of the doors weren't locked or were even bothered to be closed, some hung open this combined with the signs a perfect opportunity for a thief to break in to his choice of the richest digs in town. But not a soul remained in the village streets or Main Square, not even the dirtiest crooks were dumb enough to be at work on this day. They were in the same place every one else was.

"Heh!" Naruto laced his fingers behind his head as he walked casually down the street. Shikamaru walked along side him, his hands stuffed in his pockets with the attitude of some one who could care less, like always. Naruto glanced from sign to sign each one reminding him of just how important this was. To him personally it was a major step forward. He could hardly keep his excitement contained.

"ALRIGHT!" he shouted pumping his fist in the air and quickening his pace. Shikamaru jumped back from Naruto's sudden burst of energy, although he should be used to it by now, Naruto was unpredictable, impossible for even Shikamaru to read. Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes not bothering to try to keep up with Naruto.

"Calm down Naruto, you'll get there soon enough." Shikamaru said putting his hands in his pockets again. Naruto turned and walked backwards so he could face Shikamaru.

"Easy for you to say!" he replied with that goofy grin of his. Shikamaru's eyes suddenly widened and he put up his hands.

"Uh, Naruto-"

"You're already a Chunin!"

"Naruto you need to-" Shikamaru tried to get Naruto's attention.

"Today is _my_ day!" Then Naruto turned around to walk forward.

"Naruto look out!" Shikamaru shouted, but it was too late. BAM! Naruto ran face first into a wall. "You're such a pain." Shikamaru growled shaking his head. Naruto stepped back rubbing his forehead, his eyes closed tight as he shook off the pain. "You can't say I didn't try to warn you," Shikamaru said with a smirk. Naruto whipped around his face was all red with anger.

"Why you!"

"You dunce, do you not even see what you bumped into?"

Naruto turned around again and tipped his head back looking up at the huge white dome like building. Not dome like, just plain dome. The building was a huge dome with a rough textured surface. Naruto placed his hand on it his palm flat against the cold stone.

"Heh! This is it." He muttered under his breath.

"Well? Are you going in or not?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto turned his head slightly to look back at Shikamaru.

"What about you?"

"I'll be in the crowd." Shikamaru said. Then he started to walk away, toward the front entrance where the audience went in to find their seats. Shikamaru raised his hand without looking back. "Look for me." He said and disappeared inside. Naruto smirked. Then, he took a deep breath and let it out with a big sigh before suddenly whipping around and running for the back entrance.

"Naruto!" A voice shouted from behind. Naruto came to a skidding halt and turned just as Sakura came barreling into him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Naruto took a step back to steady himself from the impact. Sakura squeezed him hard.

"Sakura…. Can't…. breathe….." He wheezed. Sakura gasped and let go.

"Sorry" she giggled as Naruto tried to catch his breath. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

"Actually, she does, and that's what's so scary." Came a dark voice from behind her. Naruto's eye flickered with surprise. Sakura stepped to the side as Sasuke came walking up his hands in his pockets.

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked looking from one friend to the other. "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"I came to wish you luck, and to congratulate you." Sakura replied. "I'm so glad we were able to catch you before you went in." Sakura's cheeks started to burn a soft shade of pink and she cast her eyes down to avoid Naruto's gaze. She linked one arm in the other behind her back and twisted her foot in the dirt anxiously. Naruto smiled as he stared at her. He had always had the biggest crush on her. She was so pretty. Then his attention shifted to Sasuke. Sasuke stared back at him. The stood there in silence for what seemed like ages. It had been three months since Sasuke's return to the leaf village. It was Naruto's persistence and forced affection on Sasuke that made the raven haired bastard finally snap out of it and come home. Ever since, there had been this awkwardness between them.

"Well? _Somebody _say _something! _This is getting ridiculous." Sakura exclaimed getting agitated. The two boys stared at each other longer before Sasuke let out huff.

"You may be moving up before me. But you're still a looser." He said. There was a hint of a smirk on his face and his eye betrayed his serious attitude. Smiled an d looked at Sasuke with determination.

"Says the ninja on probation." He shot back. Sasuke's eyes flashed with a bit of anger but then Sakura took him by the arm and started pulling him away.

"Alrighty then! Time to go! See you in there Naruto!" Sakura called waving and pulling Sasuke away towards the front entrance. Naruto laughed and waved back. Then, finally he made his way into the stadium. When he walked out of these doors again, he would be a Chunin.


	3. Chapter 2: Everything's Changed

**Authors Note:**

Ok, so here's chapter two. Let me know how you like it. oh and for those who know more about Naruto than I do I apologize if my info is all wrong. I didn't know if Orochimaru and Itatchi lived or not when or if Naruto ever does bring Sasuke back so yeah, In this story they escaped and are still alive. Enjoy

Love

Flock-Member7

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Sakura walked with Sasuke inside, she smiled innocently like nothing was bothering her and she used her fake but totally believable "Everything is perfect" act. She nodded in respect to her superiors, waved to a few passing friends, and stuck close to Sasuke as she walked casually, and without incident, down toward where they would enter the stadium's seating area. Then suddenly without warning she yanked Sasuke to the side out of the way of people bustling through the hall. She pinned him up against the wall, knocking the breath from his chest.

"What the hell is your problem?" She barked.

Sasuke recovered quickly. "What the hell is _your _problem?"

"I mean with Naruto." She responded. "You haven't seen him for over three years, or anyone for that matter, but you're both acting like your mortal enemies!"

"We are."

Sakura laughed. "Once upon a time I would have believed that. But it was never true, and you and I both know that is the biggest lie on this planet-"

"You have no idea what you're getting into." Sasuke warned with a low angry voice. A couple years ago this would have startled Sakura and she would have backed off immediately, but not anymore. She stared straight at him, daring him to keep going. Sasuke took the dare. "You always get in the way. Just like on the roof of the hospital 3 years ago. Stay out of it."

"Never." Sakura replied just as coldly.

Sasuke only stared at her, he was loosing. But the battle wasn't over yet. "Tell me Sakura, when Naruto left to train with Lord Jiraiya for three years, how did it go when you first saw him after he returned?" Sasuke already knew the answer because he knew Naruto. But he was trying to prove a point.

Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, it was weird at first, and I almost thought he had actually matured during the time he had been gone." Sakura's expression changed from thoughtful to upset and irritated. "Only to find out he's no better than he was when he left that disgusting little pervert!" Sakura's eye's widened and she stared at Sasuke getting his point.

"Nothing's changed. Not you, not me, and definitely not Naruto." Sasuke said. Then without another word he pulled away from her and continued walking down the hall, his hand's in his pockets, his mood sulky and irritable…. And…. Edgy. _Now _that _is the biggest lie on the planet. _Sakura thought sadly. Sakura shook her head and narrowed her eyes as she clenched her jaw in determination. _Forget it Sakura, today is about Naruto. You can deal with your boy problems later. _

Sasuke walked down the hall his eyes scanning from side to side. People of every age stuffed the building trying to find a place to sit. Some were in the long line at the concession stands, some in the line for the bathrooms. Sasuke saw every one of them; his brain was trained to instantly analyze who was who, and who could be a possible threat. The boy found the entrance to the seating area and pushed his way through the crowd and into… an even bigger crowd. Sasuke froze, automatically he felt uneasy, he had been trained that his home, the leaf village, was his enemy. And now that he was no longer under Orochimaru and was back, he found it hard to unlearn what he had been taught. It was a second instinct, Sasuke took in everything around him, and he scanned for exits, and traced possible escape routs in his mind. He pinpointed which Onbu were positioned where, and did his best to monitor who would cause a problem if he _did _have to make a quick exit.

"Stop, Sasuke" Sasuke was jerked back into reality at the sound of Sakura's voice. He whipped around to face her. She stared at him sternly. "You're doing it again. I don't care what your reasons are; I'm not letting you leave, so stop planning." She commanded. Sasuke tried to relax. "Sorry, old habit." He lied. Sakura sighed and shook her head. Sasuke followed her down the rows and rows of packed seats. She headed down to the very front where Kakashi Sensei stood leaning against a post and staring out on the field. Behind him sat Ino, waiting with saved seats, just for them. Ino jumped up at the sight of them.

"Sasuke!" She exclaimed throwing herself at him. Sasuke took a step back to steady himself and suddenly felt sorry for Naruto. Ino wasn't as strong as Sakura was but she was still very forceful and the impact of her body against him almost threw him off balance. He could only imagine how hard it must have been for Naruto to stay on his feet when Sakura pounce on him.

"Oh Sasuke, I've been so lonely since you've been gone." She whined. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Shikamaru was right when he said girls were nothing but trouble. Sakura fumed, she clenched her fists and her face turned beat red as she glared at Ino. Kakashi turned to them at the commotion.

"Well, glad you guys could make it." He said coolly.

"I can't believe you're actually here before us Kakashi Sensei." Sakura said. She unclenched her fists and her face paled out, she tried her hardest to ignore Ino as she clung to Sasuke like a leach.

Kakashi nodded. "Weird." he chuckled. Sasuke pried Ino off him and took a step away from her. Ino pouted with disappointment but took her seat anyway. Sakura Sat next to her. Sasuke didn't want to sit yet. He came up to the rail next to Kakashi. He gripped the rail in his hands and stared out at the field, continuing his previous analysis. Kakashi watched Sasuke as he slowly disappeared into his own world. Sasuke stared down; they were at least ten feet from the ground, the seats circled around the field. It reminded him of the Chunin exam's final test area. The ground was grassy and worn, and no matter where you sat you could easily see the ninjas below.

"You're still finding it hard to believe you're here, right?" Kakashi asked, bringing Sasuke back. Sasuke looked up at him. He didn't want to admit it but, Kakashi was right. Itachi and Orochimaru were who knows where and Sasuke was right back where he started. What's worse, no one seemed mad at him, or were even the slightest suspicious of him. And yet he felt so out of place, so, uneasy.

_Flashback_

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. "Uhn!" he was lying in a soft bed covered comfortably in a warm white blanket. He stared up at the ceiling. It was stark white. He shifted his head, a window. The walls around it were also bare and ghostly. But outside it was a beautiful summer day. A tree with long finger like branches stretched toward the deep sea in the sky. Its dark green leaves fanned out providing shade and spreading oxygen to the air.

"496, 497, 498," That sounded like Rock Lee's voice.

"Please Lee, come back inside. You are not well enough to be doing this to yourself!" A young woman urged. Sasuke sat up so he could clearly see out the window. It _was _Lee. He was doing one handed pushups, over exerting himself like always. Sasuke froze. _Lee? Then that must mean- _

"Welcome back." Sasuke whipped around startled by the familiar voice.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sasuke jerked away from his former teacher.

"I'm not sure weather to be flattered or insulted that you'd still call me Sensei." Kakashi said closing the book he was reading. He sat in a chair next to the bed Sasuke was in, waiting for the boy to wake. A curtain behind him separated them from the rest of the room and blocked the view of the door.

"I'm in the Leaf Village hospital?" Sasuke asked his eyes scanning his surroundings once more.

"If it were up to most people here in this village you'd be considered one of the most wanted criminals in the country, and most likely dead or in prison. Consider yourself lucky." Kakashi explained.

"Why? Why am I here?"

"That answer should be obvious." Sasuke thought for a moment. He couldn't remember anything up to this point. He remembered his fight with Naruto, he remembered having the chance to end the life of his best friend, and then he remembered leaving it. The last thing he remembered was entering the layer of Orochimaru. And yet, he knew so much time had passed between then and now. One of the biggest things he remembered was the night he left, and Sakura.

"Sakura?" he thought out loud.

"Even Sakura would have given up on you by now if it weren't for-"

"Naruto…." Sasuke finished. He stared at his hands, wrapped in bandages, clenching the blanket in his fists. "I can't believe this…"

_End Flashback_

"You've slowly began to remember what happened while you were gone since then haven't you?" Kakashi asked, reading Sasuke's thoughts through the expression on his face. Sasuke looked away from Kakashi and back down at the field. Genin were filing into in now in a line. He spotted Naruto immediately. The look on his smug face was completely ignorant to what was going on above. Sasuke's jaw tightened in anger and frustration. _Everything is so turned around! _He thought.

"Sit down Sasuke. You owe him your life, the least you can do is be there for him today." Kakashi said and then walked away. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a while longer. Sakura stood up and came up to him. She put a hand on his shoulder. He turned his face to look at her.

"Come on." She encouraged and guided Sasuke to his seat. "Everything's changed."


	4. Chapter 3: Ninja Delema

**Well here it is finally. chapter 3. sorry it took so long. So now you finally get to meet the new character. Hope you enjoy.**

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Kakashi couldn't help but glance back at his kids, and down at Naruto, they had grown so much, all in their own way. And they still had so much to learn. He was just glad to have them back. Kakashi stole away up a hidden staircase that twisted and winded up a little ways until he finally emerged out onto a platform. It was the perfect place to be if you really wanted to catch all the action. It was only just above the main seating area but because of the little difference in height whoever was up here could see everything, including the field _and_ every one seated below. A chair was set up at the end of the balcony, in it have sat 5 very important people to the leaf village. Sitting in it now, looking very bored and irritated, was the hard headed fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade. She was leaning forward in her seat, resting her chin on her palm, not really looking like she was even paying attention. Shizune, her assistant and almost niece-in-law stood next to her like always, with Tonton, the pet pig, in her arms. On Lady Fifth's other side was the captain of the Onbu Black Ops. His position was perfect, he could see every one of his men, and he could see every one in the stands. If anything went wrong, the captain would know and through the ear piece clipped to his ear he would give commands. Kakashi came up to them and step between the Captain and Tsunade. Tsunade and Shizune looked up. As soon as she saw Kakashi a look of recognition came over Tsunade. She sat up and looked around Kakashi to the Captain.

"Uh, Hirozuki, will you leave us please." She said. Hirozuki turned to her in surprise.

"B-but Lady Fifth!" He tried to protest. Tsunade waved her hand at him.

"I have no need for you here at the moment. Don't you have to check up on some of your men or something?"

"I can do that from here ma'am" Hirozuki lifted his finger and pointed to the ear piece. Tsunade was not a very patient person. She could loose her temper quite easily. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Hirozuki with malice.

"Do I have to give the order twice?" She growled threateningly. Hirozuki stood there a moment longer and though he could not see it through the cat like mask the agent was wearing Kakashi could almost feel the look of fear in his eyes. Finally Hirozuki shook his head and bowed out to Lady Tsunade.

"No M'lady." And he left. As soon as he was out of hearing range Tsunade turned half of her attention to the progressing ceremony below, and half, to Kakashi. She sat there a moment and watched the future of the leaf village take a huge step forward, and then she looked up at Kakashi.

"Well?" Tsunade asked giving her full attention to him now. "How did it go?"

"Nothing significant to report," He replied casually.

"And Uchiha Sasuke?" moving her head just slightly, Tsunade gazed down at the young and furious raven haired boy.

"He is precisely where we suspected he would be. It's all panning out quite smoothly in fact."

"No problems then?" she pushed. She was avoiding something now, but Kakashi kept patient, she would tell him when she was ready.

"Like I said, he's confused and angry. But he's beginning to settle down." He reworded his previous reply. Tsunade only nodded as she let her eyes sweep over the thick crowds all cheering for their personal favorite below, her thoughts deep and troubled. But still she dodged revealing them.

"What about what happened out back?"

Kakashi sighed. "Lady Fifth, if there is one thing that hasn't changed it's the bond between those two. You know as well as I do they were merely testing each other." Lady Tsunade shook her head.

"They've tested each other before and it's exploded into a full blown battle. The look in Sasuke's eyes says that hasn't changed either."

"Not with Sakura there, she can pull them apart." Kakashi protested.

"Yes…" Tsunade nodded. "She seems to kind of balance them out, keep them in check so to say doesn't she?" She agreed. But she already knew all of this, everything Kakashi was telling her, everything she was concluding she had concluded before. "They are too predictable." She mumbled under her breath, almost disappointed that things were going as planed. Kakashi was done waiting; he needed to know what was on Tsunade's mind.

"So there is something else bothering you then." He prodded gently. It was Shizune who stepped up now. She gently placed Tonton on the ground and she snorted in response. The little piglet didn't necessarily ask to be put down and she was unhappy that Shizune had done so. So, she immediately jumped up and scrambled into Tsunade's lap. Tsunade, not taking much notice, held Tonton in her lap and patted her softly on the head as she continued to stare out and think.

"Lady Tsunade likes knowing what's going to happen before it happens, which is why she and Shikamaru seem to make such a great team, but when something isn't quite right… well…" Shizune trailed off and shook her head. Kakashi nodded, he understood what she meant. Not only would the unsolved situation trouble Tsunade, it would trouble her to the point that she can't think of anything else until the problem is addressed and solved, which made trying to work with the old hag next to impossible at times like this. Tsunade pinpointed a single ninja amongst the ranks of soon to be Chunin. Kakashi followed her gaze slowly until he too could see exactly what, or who, it was that was causing Tsunade such a fuss. It was a boy about Naruto's age, he was straight and serious and the air about him was independent with a look of iron strong will that complimented his appearance to the point of perfection. One look into his eyes and Kakashi could see a deepness that held many secrets, plans, and talents unattained by even some of the higher ranked special Jonin. For such a petite boy he didn't look small at all. He was indeed shorter than Naruto and Sasuke, shorter than all of the boys in his rank, but his size didn't retract from his overall seemingly perfect appearance. He had dark olive skin, and although it was hard to tell from so far away, appeared flawless and soft to Kakashi. His hair was also dark, close to black, but pertained more of a reddish brown tint to it, it fell just above his eyelashes and shadowed his deep green eyes, giving him that overly attractive mysteriousness about him that most if not all girls fall head over heals for. He was strong and his muscles were pronounced enough to make him look tougher than most of the kids down there but not enough to make him seem overpowering. He was ostensibly perfect, no doubt about that, and to make it even more apparent of his faultless appearance, his performance achieved aptness as well. Not only did he complete the Chunin exam _on his own, _but he had done it in better time than Gaara and was able to walk away triumphant and without a scratch. He had shown not only raw limitless power but also flawless planning and interestingly novel strategy. This feat had earned him quite a reputation already and although no one really knew his name everybody knew who he was. Recognizing this Kakashi looked back to Tsunade in question and interest.

"His name is Akasuki…." Tsunade said

"Akatsuki?!" Kakashi asked in surprise.

"No, _Akasuki… _but you see my point. Even his name makes me uneasy. His story is no better."

"Well who is he?" Kakashi pushed further, showing evident curiosity to the situation now.

"That's kind of what I would like to know." Lady Tsunade replied. "He just showed up one day with a letter from the Hidden Sand Village. He was to be in the Chunin exam, him and him alone."

"He was the only ninja they sent?" Kakashi asked getting more and more concerned with where this whole thing was going.

"Yes. I didn't really suspect anything back then. The letter didn't give any specific details about who the boy was or why it was only him. I had supposed they were just short on Genin this year and thought nothing more of it, giving him full access to the exam and the village itself, just like with any other visitor for the exam." Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "However, after he passed the exam, we received another letter, now explaining just who this kid is." Kakashi listened intently. "Apparently he is a wanderer; he turned up at the Sand Village two years ago as a young Genin. He trained in the Sand Village until he was ready to move on to Chunin. Unfortunately they can no longer afford to bring him back into the Sand at the moment and the Kazekage himself asked me to make him a Chunin of the Leaf and provide him with room and board until he can get on his feet and make a living as a ninja here in our village."

"That doesn't sound like Gaara at all, forcing his problems on us. But you complied anyway?"

Tsunade shook her head in frustration. "My hands were tied! Either I refuse to acknowledge the boy and potentially cause unwanted controversy between our two villages or I accept and hope for the best."

"Have you not tried to contact the Kazekage?"

"Several times," Tsunade replied. "Conveniently, Lord Gaara is out of commission at the moment. Ever since his little bout with the Akatsuki, he hasn't quite been himself."

"So you're just going to trust this outsider?" Kakashi asked astonished.

"I had no choice Kakashi!" Tsunade exclaimed aggravated at her current helplessness. "I can only hope it was the right choice." She said a little softer.

"You know this can only end badly."

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Even if the slightest thing goes wrong, we'll be prepared for it." Tsunade stood as the ceremony ended. She handed Tonton back to Shizune and placed her hands on her hips as she stared out at her whole village together in one place. A thin smirk appeared on her lips as she watched Naruto, trying with little success not to bounce off the walls with excitement, exit the field.

"Now," Tsunade went on. "About Uzumaki Naruto, he's going to be especially big headed for a while. I'd say you'll have your hands full with that one, even more so now that team Kakashi is back together once more." Tsunade carefully inspected each of the three squad 7 kids. Then she turned back to Kakashi all humor vanishing from her eyes. "Leave the stranger to me Kakashi, and take care of those special needs students of yours before they drive me insane. Lord knows I have enough to deal with without those three taking up my time." She said and walked with Shizune to the stairs. Kakashi watched her go and shook his head. Only a couple minutes ago all she wanted to talk about was _those three. _


	5. Chapter 4: Change in Character

**Omg! I am so sorry every one. I know this has taken FOREVER but my laptop broke and I had no way to post this. But I finally was able to get to a computer with internet so, here it is chapter four. This one's kinda funny. Every one gets together and things seem to go wrong almost immediately. lol. you'll see. Again sorry this took so long, I hope you didn't think I had abandon this story. R&R P&T.**

**Happy Holidays**

**Flock-Member7

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**

The boy's nerves were bouncing haywire off every inch of his skin. Excitement like immense chalkra building up boiled in the pit of his stomach, almost uncontainable. Of course, that could also have been only gas, but let's not ruin the moment. Naruto practically skipped out of the stadium, if it weren't for the straight line he was forced to walk in he would have bounced from here to the moon and back.

"Finally…" he whispered to himself. It had taken five years to get this far, five long hard years. While the rest of his class (except for Sasuke) had graduated up to Chunin in less than three years, in some cases (Ehem! Shikamaru, cough) less than a year. And to make matters worse Neji, Kankuro, and Temari were already Jonin! It took a lot of willpower on his part not to be jealous of them, not to resent them for achieving this goal so quickly, it was even more difficult for him when it came to Gaara… He had mixed feelings about Gaara's success, something he tried not to think about, as boys tend to do with their feelings. So instead Naruto forced himself to shrug it off and excuse all of their achievements as the result of mere talent. But deep down, Naruto appreciated that they had truly worked hard for what they had accomplished, all of them. In a way, it just gave him another reason to keep working _his _hardest to beat them. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that. He'll show them, some day.

As soon as they reached the corridors of the arena and were aloud to disperse and escape from their tedious procession, the newly pronounced boys and girls all exploded with all the enthusiasm that Naruto, and obviously the rest of them, had kept pent up. All except for Naruto. Naruto, and some stranger he'd never met before who stalked off, unaffected. Of course, Naruto hadn't seen him at all. He stood motionless in the middle of the hall as hordes of people bustled around him not taking any notice. He stared at the floor, he stared at his feet. His eyes glazed over and his vision blurred as he continued to just stand there, deep in thought, obviously not himself.

"Uhn….. Um… N-Naruto?" Startled Naruto's gaze snapped up to come face to face with large, timid eyes, lightly shaded by the bangs of long black hair. Pale petit little fingers of one of her hands were poised softly beneath her lower lip, quivering ever so slightly. Startled in return the girl jumped back and took in a sharp breath of surprise. A flash of recognition quickly replaced the unnatural emotionless look in his eyes. His goofy grin and that wild spark in his eye returned and as quickly as it had descended upon him, his short moment of withdrawal disappeared.

"Hey Hinata, what's up?" Naruto greeted her casually and with out a clue. Hinata hesitated as she lowered her face averting her uneasy gaze from Naruto's. She lifted her other hand and twiddled her fingers, tapping her index fingers together lightly, like she always did when she was nervous or anxious in any way.

"Um… Well I… I just wanted to say…" she stammered still not able to look up at him. Naruto watched her curiously. "Congratulations Naruto." She finally finished in that small sweet little voice of hers. Naruto smiled.

"Heh! Thanks Hinata! I shuda known you'd be the first one to come see me after I got out. It's cute how you're like that Hinata… Hinata? Uh… are you ok?" Unknowingly Naruto had hit the girl's week spot right on target. Hinata had frozen stiff and her cheeks blushed a bright red. She continued to tap her fingers as her face burned hotter and hotter.

"Naruto I… Well I… I don't know what to say…"

"Are you feeling alright?" Naruto repeated putting a hand to her forehead. Suddenly all the color drained from her face and she gasped as her body became ridged. Naruto stepped back becoming concerned now. Hinata's knees buckled and she began to fall backwards. Kiba was there. He caught Hinata and gently pushed her back up to her feet waking her from her faint.

"She's fine." Kiba announced with amusement, nudging Hinata playfully in the arm. Naruto looked relieved. Kiba smirked, he was no dumb ass, in fact he was quite the opposite. Although he wasn't as talented at it as Shikamaru was, Kiba was very aware of the things going on around him, he didn't miss much. Neither did Shino who had arrived with Kiba. From the very beginning Kiba knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto and at first dog boy had felt a twinge of jealousy toward the class clown. He noticed it when the four of them, Hinata, Shino, Akamaru, and himself had become squad eight. He had seen Hinata suddenly become very nervous and uneasy and would often times faint for no reason. At first Kiba couldn't understand why, but it didn't take long to realize it only happened when Naruto was around. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. But even though he knew about what was going on with the girl, he got such a kick out of how dense and clueless Naruto was to it, that he had decided to stay out of it. The affection he had felt toward the Kunoichi on his squad gradually resolved into respect as a fellow teammate. Shino on the other hand didn't really care about what went on with Hinata when Naruto graced them with his unruly presence.

"Hey," Kiba continued, keeping a hand on Hinata's shoulder to be sure she was steadied. "Way to go Naruto. You deserved this. Right buddy?" Kiba turned to Akamaru

"Arff, Arff!" The enormous dog replied to his master's call. Naruto flinched; he still couldn't get over how huge Akamaru had gotten in only three years. Naruto had only just arrived back in the hidden leaf village, looking to recruit some of his old friends for a rescue mission, along came Kiba riding on the back of a dog the size of a horse!

"Looks like almost all of us have made it." Shino added coolly.

"Hee Hee, thanks you guys." Naruto puffed out his chest and displayed the off green vest he had been given proudly. "They gave me a vest too. What duya think?" Silence. Kiba sneered in disgust.

"Uh…. Well…" He couldn't come up with anything to say.

"I think it looks great on-." Hinata tried to say. Shino shook his head and interrupted her before she could finish.

"It looks terrible." He said. Naruto was unimpressed, he glared at Shino crossly.

"Awe, who asked you anyway?" Naruto said and waved him off.

"You did," Shino said under his breath.

"It never looked good on any of us." Came another familiar voice. Naruto stepped back and turned to see Choji, stuffing his face with his favorite snack, and Shikamaru, hands shoved deep in his pockets looking as bored as ever, walking up to the small group. It was Choji who had spoken between fistfuls of chips. "Which is why none of us wear it." He said mouth full.

"I- I thought we all looked good in them…" Hinata tried again.

"So why don't you wear yours?" Kiba asked. Hinata blushed once more and fell silent. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"It's pointless to argue over fashion, leave that to the girls will ya." He complained.

"I disagree." Kiba had to step back to let the new arrivals into the group. "A little fashion knowledge would do you some good Shikamaru." Ino teased. Sakura giggled, putting a hand up to her mouth. Sasuke brooded.

"B-But what about Shikamaru… and Lee. They both look just fine in a vest." Hinata said quietly.

"Are you kidding me!?" Choji exclaimed.

"Shikamaru was easy to get used to, at least it _fits _him." Ino added. Kiba could only nod in agreement; otherwise, he would rather stay out of this. Shikamaru sighed.

"What a drag."

"Hey! What's wrong with the way Lee looks?" Naruto asked defensively.

"Nothing, if he were trying to be some one he's not." Shino said very calmly.

"He's trying to hard to look like Guy Sensei." Choji pointed out.

"That's enough!" Sakura interrupted the heated discussion with an aggravated bark, bringing every one to halt. "Since when did we start to gossip about people behind their backs?" she said her hands on her hips. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Since when did you all actually start talking to each other? I don't remember ever being invited to one of these little get-togethers." He said sarcastically. Every body fell silent unsure of what to say next. It seemed like an eternity as they all stood there, not a word passed between them. Then-

"Did any of you notice that new kid?" Hinata…


	6. Chapter 5: Unfilling Details

Author's Note:

Dear Readers,

The plot is starting to pick up a little now, it can only get thicker from here. R&R P&T

Love

Flock-Member7

* * *

"He's a new recruit from the Sand Village," Neji replied somewhat annoyed. After the awkward silence that followed the little argument earlier that morning, everybody had realized that they had been acting completely out of character… and they didn't understand why. So squad by squad they all went their separate ways without a single word being said about Hinata's comment. Kiba climbed gently onto Akamaru's back, ruffled the fur on the back of his neck, and silently turned to leave followed closely by Shino and Hinata. Oddly Choji had lost his appetite and threw the half full bag of potato chips into a near by trash can. Ino left Sakura's side and crossed the circle of friends to meet up with her teammates as they too left the scene like ghosts. "What's everybody's problem?" Naruto had asked. Sakura gave an annoyed sigh and left Naruto and Sasuke alone. Sasuke shook his head and glared at Naruto. "Your such a loser." He growled like he always used to, and he too turned and left. But Naruto was still curious about what Hinata had said. _What new kid?_ He took off the vest and quickly disposed of it with out thinking of the consequences and left to seek information from someone else who might know. He went to Team Guy.

"Jeez, you didn't know that Naruto? At least Shikamaru should have known right?" Tenten asked. She stood, her feet wide apart, and bent to touch her toes numerous times on each side; she was stretching.

"It does not mater!" Rock Lee declared, "It is good to have more Shinobi to protect our village." Lee was doing pushups; Naruto had lost count of how many but it was a lot because the perspiration was rolling off Lee's face in river like streams. Neji was leaning against a tree watching them. They were preparing for training with Guy, though none of them were actually pupils of his any more and no longer were required to take lessons from him, they still did. Neji had not been assigned kids of his own yet and had nothing better to do. Lee's bond with his Sensei was too strong to discontinue their hardcore training. And Tenten wanted to be where ever Lee was. So, there they were, like old times. Neji ignored Rock Lee's declaration and played off of Tenten's comment.

"Why _didn't _you ask Shikamaru? Isn't he Lady Tsunade's right had man or something?"

"How should I know? Besides, he just walked away when Hinata mentioned the new kid." Naruto said.

"Well why'd you bother coming to me? All I know is where he's from. Don't you have some other people to bug?" Neji sneered. Tenten stood and came over to where Neji and Naruto were standing.

"Well I hear he's pretty cute and amazingly talented at all three types of Jutsus. He passed the Chunin exam all on his own!" Suddenly Lee was with them.

"Cute!? A Ninja's appearance does not make them a better Shinobi! Besides, no one is better looking than Guy Sensei, he the most handsome devil of the Leaf village! YEAH!"

"What fantasy world are you living in Lee?" Neji scoffed in disgust. Tenten snorted trying to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

After that Guy Sensei had arrived and the four of them left to do a training exercise. Naruto still wasn't satisfied. He now knew the kid was from the Sand village, he was overly talented, and apparently he was cute according to Tenten. There had to be more to this guy than just that. There was always more. Even with weirdoes like that Sai, there was always more than just what met the eye. (Hey that rhymed!) Naruto had to know more.

"Ah! There he is! The man of the hour, well done Naruto, how does it feel to be Chunin?"

"Cut it out Pervy Sage, I'm here to get some dirt on the new kid." After he had gotten all he could out of Neji and Tenten, Naruto had decided to talk to his mentor, Lord Jiraiya. Jiraiya, surprisingly, wasn't hard to find today. He wasn't off hiding from Naruto in some no kids allowed bar, or privately "researching" at the woman's bath, he wasn't even trying to escape the village like always, yet. Naruto found him sipping from a glass of an unknown substance right outside Ichiraku's, of all places.

"What no celebration? No party? What's gotten into _you?_" Jiraiya took another drink of his… whatever it was. Naruto crossed his arms.

"I don't have time for that-"

"What, they got you on a mission already?! Wow they sure upped the anti since I was a kid." Jiraiya interrupted loudly.

"Would you stop it and listen to me already Grandpa?"

"Grandpa? That's a new one." Lord Jiraiya said under his breath.

"There's a new kid in the village, he's from the Village Hidden in the Sand, he's really talented, and uh I think Tenten might have mentioned he was cute or something." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in response to Naruto's comments, interested now in what the boy was trying to say. "But I need to know more, I need to know if this is another Sasuke I have to deal with or just some nobody."

"Is that all your concerned about? Competition?" Jiraiya set his glass down and leaned against the side wall of the ramen shop also crossing his arms. Naruto scratched the back of his head in thought.

"Well no…"

"Listen, Naruto, I know just as much about this kid as you do, and I doubt if you're going to get any useful information from anyone else. Especially if he's a foreigner."

"Are you saying this guys top secret or something!?"

"Could be, how should I know?" Naruto's spirit drooped.

"You're not much help Pervy Sage,"

"Sorry kid, it's not my place to know these things anymore. I'm moving on." And the bomb was dropped.

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed "What do you mean moving on?!"

"Calm down Naruto, I never stay in one place for very long; you should _know _that by now." Jiraiya tried to explain getting serious. "I've got to continue my research else where. Staying in this village won't help any in the long run."

"Oh, you mean your stupid books. I see" Naruto growled disgusted.

"Well actually no… I'm leaving to continue my search for Orochimaru." KABOOM!

"WHAT!?" Naruto exclaimed louder.

"SHHH!" Jiraiya held up his hands trying to quiet the boy down. He glanced around nervously to be sure nobody was listening in.

"I thought Orochimaru was dead!" Naruto said not getting much softer.

"Naruto be quiet. People will hear, and then we'll really be in trouble."

"What the hell are you talking about Pervy Sage?" Lord Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. _This is pointless_. He thought.

"Calm down and I'll tell you." Naruto shut his mouth and said nothing more but he continued to glare up at Jiraiya. "You didn't really think we had beaten him that easily did you?"

"Could it get any harder?" Naruto hissed. Jiraiya took a second to mull this over.

"Eh… yes and no. Point is he's still out there and he won't rest until he gets what he wants."

"Sasuke?"

"No you ingrate! He wants to see the Leaf Village perish remember? Sasuke was only a pawn he was going to use."

"Well then, I'm going with you." At this Jiraiya stepped back and chuckled with amusement at Naruto. _What a kid._ He thought.

"No Naruto, your place is here now. You're needed in your village, now that Sasuke's back there's no reason for you to be out there hunting down Orochimaru, the Akatsuki are no longer an issue so there's no need for you train with me any longer, relax a little will ya? And besides didn't you want to find out who this new kid was?" Jiraiya tried to bait Naruto.

"He's not as important as finding that creep and bringing him down for good!" It didn't work.

"Listen kid, I'm sorry but I can't take you along this time."

"Fine." Naruto said. He was very unhappy at this whole mess. "When are you leaving?"

"I was waiting here for you to show up so I could tell you I was heading out now."

"Now?" Naruto whined pathetically. Jiraiya nodded

"Yep, it's time. I've spent too much time here as it is already. Now that Sasuke's back, you, Kakashi, and the others are finally a team again. Which by extension means you're finally out of my hair." Jiraiya burst out laughing at his own joke. Naruto didn't laugh. Oddly enough he had fallen into a trance. He stared at the ground silently, sadness in his eyes. "Awe, are you crying?" Jiraiya teased with a smirk. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and smirked as well.

"Not a chance! A Shinobi never reveals their true feelings." With that Jiraiya laughed, ruffled Naruto's hair, and walked away leaving Naruto all alone. Again.

Naruto raised his chin and stared forward, not looking back even to watch Jiraiya go. With determination he walked the opposite way, ready to discover more about this stranger from the sand, everything else forgotten. But who to ask next? Hopefully not somebody who was going to ditch him like his last three informants. "Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto declared and took off in search of his sensei. He found him leaning against the rail of a decorative bridge somewhere on the outskirts of town. Kakashi was reading a book, like he always did, not paying much attention to anything else, or so it seemed. Naruto came running up the bridge to him barely out of breath.

"Hello Naruto, what can I do for you?" Kakashi greeted calmly.

"Kakashi Sensei, do you know anything about this new kid from the Sand?" Naruto blurted out. Kakashi lifted his eyes from the page and looked down at his student with surprise.

"You know about him? Already? Huh, I would have guessed another month or so before you finally realized he was there. I'm impressed." With that he closed his book and stored it in his back pocket. "Well Naruto, I'm sorry but you know I can't tell you anything."

"Are you kidding me!? Come on Sensei I'm dieing to know." Naruto begged.

"Perhaps you should try talking to him yourself." Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking slowly away. _Oh no you don't!_ Naruto ran after him and walked with him refusing to give up.

"How am I supposed to talk to him if I don't even know who _he_ is?" Naruto demanded. "I don't even know his name for cry'n out loud."

"His name… Huh, alright Naruto, I'll tell you his name, but that's it."

"Yes!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air naïve to the fact that he had just been tricked.

"Akasuki. His name is Akasuki." Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and Kakashi kept walking. The blond headed boy stood there in shock trying to understand what Kakashi had just told him.

"You're kidding right!? I mean, this is joke!" Naruto called after him. Kakashi only waved, not looking back and said.

"Talk to him."


	7. Chapter 6: Fulfilled

**Dear Readers,**

**Please forgive me for the delay in this chapter, if you didn't know already I'm going to college 4th quarter and I'm extremely busy. But to make it up to you here is an extra extra long chapter for your enjoyment.**

**Words of Warning though... prepare for tears, if you're that type that is.**

**Love**

**Flock-Member7  
**

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Naruto sat his chin in his hands and pouted like he used to when he didn't get his way. Normally he would convince himself he was too old for that now but today absolutely nothing was going his way and he couldn't help but have a twinge of self pity. For today supposedly being the greatest day of his young life it sure was turning out to be a drag, as Shikamaru would call it. He let out an enormous sigh and continued with his pouting. He stared ahead to where the path met the grass, a wall of trees dense and thick in numbers just beyond that. The bench he sat on was on the other side of the path, a stone wall directly behind it more towering trees followed that. He remembered the place well, and as he was swept up in his recollections his frustration seemed to subside and an air of calmness blanketed him.

Naruto remembered mostly bits and pieces of what had happened that day over five years ago. It was the first day actually, his first day as a ninja, and as part of a squad. Part of him was overjoyed that the Kunoichi on his team was Sakura Haruna, the most beautiful girl in the entire world, according to Naruto. But he could never seem to get her attention; she was always busy swooning over pretty boy Sasuke Uchiha. It was because Sasuke was also on his team that Naruto was very annoyed and angry that day. And because he was so upset, his emotions led him to a brilliant idea. He was able to pull it off too, after getting Sasuke out of the way and stealing his identity, all he had to do was win Sakura. Unfortunate for him, he had, had some bad milk earlier that morning and never had time to kiss Sakura between his bathroom breaks. When he finally returned to Sakura as himself, her attitude toward him had completely changed! He was happy at first, come to find out she was only depressed that Sasuke had called her annoying.

It was at the very spot where he was sitting that all this had taken place. Not only that, it was also the last place Sakura saw Sasuke, the last place anyone saw the Sasuke they knew and loved. Even now, things weren't quite the same and Naruto guessed they never would be.

"Yo, Loser," _speak of the devil. _Naruto thought. He looked up, and down the path that led to a small ally at the back of the Ninja Academy. Sasuke was making his way towards Naruto, his expression giving off no emotion, his hand stuffed in his pockets, looking as cool as ever while still managing to make Naruto look like a fool. At least that hadn't changed.

Naruto rolled his eyes and growled in annoyance. "I'm not in the mood Sasuke, get lost." He spat glaring up as Uchiha came closer. _He just _had _to come now, didn't he?_

"Chill out Naruto," Sasuke said stopping in front of his friend. "I'm here to help you out." Naruto's eyes shot up wide and questioning straight into Sasuke's. Suspicion gnawed at him and he narrowed his eyes. His fingers began to itch with apprehension.

"You want to help me?" He tested.

"Are you deaf?" Sasuke shot back. Suddenly and without warning Naruto jumped Sasuke using the element of surprise combined with mere strength to force his left arm behind his back tightly while pressing a Kunai to his throat, barely touching his skin. Sasuke was caught off guard and his heart leapt in surprise, shocked Naruto had the guts to attack him like that. His body became tense and ridged from being so unprepared and as soon as his brain caught up with the situation he let himself relax enough to think clearly, all in a matter of seconds.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke shouted in anger. He clenched his teeth and glared at Naruto from the corner of his eyes. He didn't really think Naruto would _try _to hurt him and he had unfortunately made the mistake of letting his guard down, even when alone with Naruto.

"Alright, who are you and where's Sasuke?" Naruto growled menacingly he was being completely serious!

"You idiot! I _am _Sasuke," Sasuke shot a quick glance at his leg pouch wrapped around his right leg. _Bingo!_ He thought. It was full of Kunai and Shuriken and Naruto really was an idiot.

"Sasuke would never offer to help, especially not to me. You're pathetic."

"_You're _pathetic, if I really wasn't me you'd be dead numbskull!" Sasuke growled in frustration as his hand shot to his pouch. Naruto had grabbed Sasuke's left arm leaving his right arm free to grab a Kunai. Naruto realized his error too late and was forced to let go off his opponent and try and bounce away. But Sasuke's lightning fast reflexes aided his counter attack and he was able to whip around and throw a good slash at Naruto before also jumping back. Naruto used his own Kunai to block the attack and the sharp clink of metal against metal echoed in reaction. "Guh! It never fails! You are the biggest loser on the planet!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto squared off ready to attack again when.

"Sasuke! Naruto! What are you doing!?" cried a female voice. All attention turned to Sakura who had somehow suddenly appeared.

"Stay back Sakura! That's not Sasuke."

"What are you talking about of course that's Sasuke." _I should know too. _She thought to herself. _I've memorized every inch of Sasuke's perfect, beautiful body, no one could ever make that good of a clone. _

"Tell me, if that were Sasuke, would he offer to help me?" Naruto asked not taking his eyes off the accused. Sakura reeled in surprise.

"He did what?" Sakura now turned to Sasuke in playful suspicion that he didn't seem to catch.

"You can't be serious." Sasuke said calmly.

"Alright Naruto, that's enough. I give you my word that, that is the real Sasuke. Now knock it off." Sakura scolded. Naruto had no choice but to listen, Sakura wasn't the same little push over she used to be. "Now, what exactly is going on here?"

* * *

"He did WHAT!?" Tsunade exclaimed a spray of hot tea bursting from her mouth. She slammed her cup down and wiped her face as her assistant Shizune hurriedly tried to clean up the mess.

"Lady Tsunade, you soiled all of the paperwork on your desk!" Shizune scoffed. Tsunade ignored her and glanced back at Kakashi who was standing behind her and off to the side listening carefully. She turned her attention back to Hirozuki standing directly in front of her.

"He walked right up to Naruto and offered assistance, all of his own free will." Hirozuki repeated patiently.

"And you're sure it was really Sasuke?"

"Affirmative,"

"Well then that settles it; he must have had some ulterior motive." Tsunade said not willing to believe that Sasuke was actually willing to help.

"Negative, he told Haruna and the Uzamaki boy that he had run into Akasuki of the Sand and there was something about him that was quote, 'sickeningly familiar'. He truly wanted to help discover more about the boy." The captain explained.

"And you believed him?" Tsunade barked. Kakashi squirmed uncomfortably for a brief second, which went unnoticed.

"From what I could tell he had none of the normal signs of a person who is lying. Everything including his heart rate was normal."Hirozuki confirmed.

"Sasuke Uchiha is not normal. Are you forgetting he was trained by Orochimaru? He's a _trained _liar. And even if he has no recollection of it it's become second nature for him. Did you take that into consideration?"

"Yes ma'am. If you'd only let me explain."

"Fine." Tsunade sighed.

"What Sasuke said was true. He was in fact walking alone down a deserted path when he brushed past Akasuki. Sasuke literally froze and his skin turned ghostly pale. He looked like he was going to be sick. When Akasuki had finally vanished from sight Sasuke returned to normal and quickly regained control. But there was a new sense of determination in his eyes. My guess is he was ready to find Naruto. But-"

"Ehem" Kakashi butted in holding a fisted hand to his mouth and coughing. "Lady Hokage, may I speak with you?" he said coolly looking up at Hirozuki.

"Not again, Lady Tsunade-"

"Leave us Hirozuki, continue with your mission." She commanded with a wave of her hand. Hirozuki could do nothing but storm off fuming with anger and mumbling inaudibly. Kakashi waited until he was sure the captain was gone.

"So, how long have you had the Onbu captain following Sasuke?" Kakashi asked as he stepped away from Tsunade's desk and back to his previous position. Only now he took a more relaxed stance leaning one shoulder on the window and crossing his feet, his eyes watching the clouds roll slowly past. Watching clouds seemed to work for Shikamaru and Choji didn't it? But at last when Tsunade did not answer him he turned his gaze back on her. "I suppose it was foolish of me to ask for such vital information of you, information about my students?" he asked sarcastically

Tsunade sighed and turned her chair to face Kakashi. "Once again Kakashi you are right. I've had Hirozuki on Sasuke since the moment he was out of the hospital. There you happy?"

"I'm not sure weather or not I should be offended." Kakashi said seriously. "I'm not trusted enough to look after my own students, or for that matter to be consulted in the matter of having them watched twenty four seven?"

"Enough , you know that's not it. It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust _him._" The old hag replied. Kakashi looked at Tsunade then up at Shizune who lowered her eyes and backed away and said.

"Sasuke is too powerful to leave unmonitored."

"Naruto seems to trust him just fine." Kakashi shot to Tsunade.

"Naruto is Naïve and lets his emotions cloud his judgment. Sasuke would sooner turn on him before anyone else." Tsunade said trying to keep her cool. She couldn't deny that Kakashi had every right to question her own judgment; lately it was as if she wasn't herself. No matter how hard she fought she only seemed to be drifting further away. This made her even more frustrated.

"And what do you say now? Now that Sasuke is on the right path and running full speed ahead, while you let the stranger have free run of the village?"

"I'm not an idiot Kakashi; I have Onbu on him as well. It's suspicious that Sasuke seems to be making a drastic improvement but even more concerning that neither one of the _two _agents I sent have returned with any news whatsoever." Tsunade said using cunning words to dramatically change the subject. Kakashi's brow raised in interest. He stood up from the window now and paced to the front of her desk. Tsunade's chair followed him.

"Which could mean one of two things." Kakashi concluded.

"That you were right, the agents are dead, and the boy is a threat to the village _or_, he's as perfect as everyone says he is and neither agent has seen anything significant enough to report. Either way could mean danger, the first is obvious, the other more elusive, it could be a very elaborate cover up." Tsunade's words were all too true and Kakashi feared for the worst.

"Leaving us none the wiser either way." Kakashi said nodding in thought.

"Precisely." Shizune agreed

"So, one out of three chance this kids is who he says he is." Kakashi added

"The odds aren't exactly in our favor and from my experiences I _should _back out now and cut my losses." Tsunade suggested using a gambling reference.

"But?" Kakashi and Shizune both asked at the same time, both knowing the answer.

"But you know me, we will sit and wait and watch." There was a long pause after that.

"How exactly do you intend to watch something that does nothing or everything at the same time?" Shizune asked.

"And what about Naruto and Sasuke?" Kakashi added.

Tsunade laughed. "Knowing Naruto, give him five minutes and he'll come bursting through that door demanding information about Akasuki. How much you wanna bet?"

Now it was Shizune's turn to laugh. "It'll be the first bet she's ever won."

And waduya know, "GRANDMA TSUNADE!" screamed Naruto's voice as he came bursting through the door Sasuke and Sakura came running in behind him both doubled over and out of breath.

"Well would ya look at that." Tsunade said in triumph.

"You said five minutes; it's only been thirty seconds." Kakashi pointed out his one eye smiling. "You lose again Lady Hokage."

"Everybody's a critic, eh Kakashi?" Tsunade said with a pout.

"Actually, that's a new record for Naruto. We only received the report 7 minutes ago. Someone was thinking on his toes." Shizune said in good humor.

"That's what I thought earlier." Kakashi said to her. "I'd never have guessed he even knew about Akasuki so soon."

Naruto hesitated having just burst in on the conversation as usual he was trying to catch up with what ever is going on.

"Naruto…." Sakura panted irritably. "Can't you do anything at a normal pace?" Sasuke had caught his breath by now and was standing up straight. He smirked down at the girl.

"Out of shape are we?" he teased.

"Oh I don't wanna hear it!" Sakura growled clenching her fists and stomping one foot making the ground quake slightly at her force. "You were just as tired as I was." Naruto had turned and was listening to them bicker only because he had been thrown off by the conversations the adults were having earlier. But then suddenly he shook it off and turned back to Tsunade.

"Hey! Grandma Tsunade, I need some answers." He demanded bluntly.

"Forget it Naruto, I'm not feeding you top secret information just because your curious." She answered.

"You know," Kakashi said stepping in. "Denying him will only make things harder on you. And he'll most likely get himself into trouble to find out anyway."

"Whose side are you on?" Tsunade shook her head and scowled at Kakashi. "I don't care what he does; he's not getting it from me." The she sat and waited for Naruto's tantrum to begin. Just like always, she suspected, he was going to yell at her, beg her, and to patronize her, all to get what he wanted. It was the same every time; it happened a lot when Sasuke was first taken from the Leaf village. Naruto would beg and beg and beg and refuse to do anything else until he was sent out on another mission to look for his missing friend. Tsunade couldn't find enough places to hide from the boy, he would always find her, and then be all in her face about it. It would drive her insane. A three year vacation from it just wasn't enough; after all, Naruto was a full time job.

"Fine." Naruto shrugged and stormed out of the office as quick as lightening leaving everyone's head spinning. Tsunade's jaw dropped in shock.

"Naruto wait!" Sakura shouted and took off after him. "UHG! SLOW DOWN!" her voice could be heard from down the hall. Sasuke rolled his eyes and started after them.

"Wh-What just happened?" Shizune asked also conveniently surprised.

"Looks like he's off to get himself into trouble again." Kakashi replied shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the window.

"He didn't even argue with me."

Kakashi shrugged. "My guess is he's off to find Shikamaru."

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow and snorted. "He won't give anything to Naruto. He's too smart for that."

"He's also very lazy. It would depend on what kind of mood he was in but I'd say Naruto has a better chance of getting information from Shikamaru than from you. It would seem Naruto is the smart one today." Kakashi said, realizing he had a point Tsunade's eyes widened.

"He's not wasting _any _time, is he?" Shizune asked rhetorically and with a giggle of amusement. Tsunade whipped around to face Kakashi.

"Shikamaru would never give Naruto anything too important." She said confidently, and then a little skeptically she asked. "Would he?"

"No, not on purpose. But he would tell Naruto something trivial, just to get the kid off his back, but it would be enough info to quench Naruto's thirst. For now."

* * *

After checking The Academy, the training grounds, and all of the rooftops with benches on them, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had turned up no trace of Shikamaru. Nothing, zip, nada. Iruka had said he hadn't seen Shikamaru at all that day, and every one of the other kids had said they hadn't seen him or his team since they all split up at the ceremony. Naruto had exhausted all of his brain power for the day and had run out of options. Luckily Sakura was there.

"You idiot Naruto." She scolded as they all sat and rested on a park bench. Sasuke leaned back and rested both elbows on the back of the bench looking calm and collected, as usual. Naruto had collapsed obviously physically drained as well as mentally. Sakura sat patiently with her back straight and her arms supporting her weight as she gripped the edge of the bench, leaning forward ever so slightly. "Who out of every person in this village would most likely know where Shikamaru is?"

"Tsunade? But she wont tell us _anything._"

Sakura sighed "No Naruto, Ino and Choji. They know him better than his own parents do. They'll know where he is."

"This is just a waste of time." Sasuke said coolly.

"Alright fine!" Naruto jumped up his strength miraculously returning and pointed at Sasuke who merely looked up at him with a bored expression. "You go to Choji's favorite places to eat." He pointed to Sakura who had been startled to her feet by Naruto's burst of energy. "You check the flower shop."

"What will _you_ do _Naruto_?" She asked sarcastically.

"Uh…."

Sakura shook her head. "I'll go check Ino's shop, _you_ go check Choji's restaurants, and Sasuke you should check Ino's, Choji's, and Shikamaru's houses."

Sasuke stood up and nodded then disappeared. Naruto smiled with determination and ran off to do his part. Sakura sighed still exhausted and started to trudge toward the flower store.

Unfortunately, Ino's mom was the one working today, and she shook her head when Sakura asked if she knew where Ino was. Naruto had even worse luck. Every place he went to threw him out before he could even start to look for Choji.

"And don't come back until you can pay your bills!" cried one manager after another shaking their fists in anger. He was forced to return empty handed back to the bench.

Sakura was first to make it back to the bench and for a second Naruto wondered if she even left. But he shook his head not really caring he was too pissed off.

"Well?" Sakura asked hopefully as Naruto approached. He shook his head again.

"I couldn't get inside anywhere to see if Choji was even there. I guess waiting 3 and a half years to pay my bills wasn't a very good idea."

"Ya think!?" Sakura growled angrily. "Uhg! Sometimes I wish I could just knock you up side your head you're so dumb."

"Save your breath he doesn't understand a word you say anyway." Sasuke said as he strolled up to meet them. Naruto scowled at Sasuke.

"Oh yeah? And what did you come up with smarty pants?" He demanded.

"Nothing at Ino's or Choji's house-"

"UHG!!!" Naruto threw up his hands in exasperation. "Now what are we going to do."

"How 'bout you let Sasuke finish for a start." Sakura hit him on the back of his head sending poor Naruto flying face first into the ground. Sasuke stepped out of the way just in time then watched in disgust as he picked himself up rubbing his head in pain.

"You'll be interested in what I found out from Shikamaru's mom though." Sasuke finished.

"What, what is it?" Sakura asked.

"Shikamaru and the others are at the KIA memorial stone."

* * *

Shikamaru's ear's pricked at the sound of footsteps rustling the grass below as they ran, coming hurriedly toward him and the others. Without looking up he knew that his friends and comrades, Ino and Choji, had turned to see who it was only seconds later. But Shikamaru couldn't tear his eyes away from the coal black stone in the center of the memorial. He stared blankly at the irregular outcrop, and at the smooth prism shaped surface that was sanded to shiny perfection. He stared at the hundred's of names delicately carved into the flat plane, he recognized a few from history books, some were people he heard the adults talk about as personal heroes, others meant nothing to him. In fact they all meant nothing to him; every name engraved there brought no particular emotion to Shikamaru, neither good nor bad. He had never even cared about the stone or what it stood for… until now. Until one of the names actually mattered, until one name, the last name, Asuma Sarutobi, was some one he actually cared about.

He listened as the footsteps came to a stop followed by two other pairs and he knew who it was that was behind him. But he did not turn to look. He didn't move.

'Naruto," Ino's voice was soft and full of sorrow. It was the only time Ino was ever soft, ever quiet; it was the only time Choji never ate, never complained, when they came here. This was the only place and time when Shikamaru was ever not himself, that is, lately anyway. It had been six months after all, six months since Asuma's death, and it was time to pull himself together. And it was true that nobody noticed the pain he was feeling, no one saw how torn up he had become. He was the same ole Shikamaru by day, being the smart aleck, lazy assed, genius he had always been, I bet not even you noticed any difference. But it hadn't always been that way, and it wasn't that way here either. For the longest time after Asuma's death, Shikamaru just, faded away. He took it the hardest of course, but no one could really tell why, and not even Shikamaru himself could properly explain it. He stopped eating, he stopped training, and he never showed up at the Academy any more. He stopped talking too. Not even Choji, his best and closest friend could get through to Shikamaru, could get him to talk.

After about a month of this, Shikamaru slipped into a coma. It only lasted two months, but it was more than enough. And the oddest thing was, when he finally woke up, he was himself again. He ate and chatted with Choji who sat at his bedside every day until he could finally leave the hospital. He was as smart and witty as ever, he even smirked every once and a while like he used to. Ino brought him a single flower every day like Sakura did for Naruto and Rock Lee, and even for Sasuke when he had been around. Shikamaru appreciated it and continuously complained about how much of a drag it was to be stuck in the lousy hospital instead of out training, or teaching at the Academy. He'd say over and over how badly he needed to get out. And they would have let him too, if it weren't for what happened every night. After visiting hours were over and the lights were turned off, after most of the nurses and doctors retired for the night, after everything became still, and silent. That's when his emotions came flooding back to him. Shikamaru was never one to show emotion, many thought he didn't really have any emotion other than boredom. But losing Asuma was too much for him and he'd begin again to recede back into a coma every night, and every night a rotation of nurses would stand watch over him to prevent just that. Finally when the late night fiascos had stopped, he was released and Shikamaru went back to his old life. And nobody ever thought anything different.

He made sure to plan his schedule accordingly. He went to the KIA Memorial often, not everyday, for it would be too much for him, but two or three times a week at least. He was careful to go when he was sure Kakashi would not be there, or Iruka, or anyone else for that matter. So he would often show up in the middle of a very busy day, when everyone else was preoccupied doing other things, or on a dark and rainy day, when every one was inside. On rare occasions he would ask Ino and Choji to come with him, and they always did for just that reason. But usually if ever, his teammates would come and visit the stone on their own accord. Today was one of those very rare days that Shikamaru had gone out of his comfort zone to ask that his friends accompany him on his visit, mostly because he felt that today, on the 6th month anniversary of Asuma's death, that they should all be together.

Naruto hesitated. One look at Ino and Choji and he could tell that this was probably the worst time to be coming for them. He stared at Shikamaru's back and kept his mouth shut. Ino turned back to her friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Shikamaru, I think we should probably go now." She suggested gently. "It's been long enough."

"Yeah… Come on Shikamaru, we can come back tomorrow." Choji offered. It was the same every time they were with him. They'd stay there with him for hours, just standing and thinking, and remembering times long past. Then when it was time to go Ino would gently urge Shikamaru to leave with them and Choji would offer to come back again the next day. Shikamaru shook his head. Ino and Choji looked at each other sadly then looked to Naruto and the others. They walked slowly over to them.

"He won't budge." Ino whispered. "He never does. Maybe you could try talking to him."

"Ha," Choji huffed. "Good luck, not even I can." Then they both started walking away.

"See you later Shikamaru." Ino called. Shikamaru didn't move a muscle in reply.

Naruto still hesitated unsure of what to do. He looked back at Sakura and Sasuke who both seemed genuinely sad. Even Sasuke, who, avoided Naruto's gaze and stared down at the ground. Sakura bit her lip she was just as skeptical as Naruto was.

"It's not really my place" He whispered to her. She nodded.

"But maybe we should try."

"We?" Sasuke asked shaking his head. "I barely know this guy."

Sakura scowled at Sasuke. _And whose fault is that? _Then her eyes softened and she walked slowly past Naruto, who turned and followed her, to Shikamaru's side. "Hey… Shikamaru… Is everything ok?" she asked quietly.

Finally Shikamaru looked up and saw Sakura. He put his hands in his pockets and turned away from the stone to face Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto on either side. Seeming to be back to normal, "What do _you _guys want?" he asked accusingly.

"Maybe we should come back later." Naruto said and tried to walk away; Sakura swiftly grabbed his collar and stopped him in his tracks with out a word. Naruto choked and had to step back, he groped for Sakura's hand to try and pull her off him.

"We're here for some information." Sasuke replied coldly.

"Hey! I'm running this operation. I'll do the talking." Naruto demanded finally getting Sakura to let go.

"Be my guest." Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow. Naruto stepped in front of the unamused Shikamaru.

"We're here for some information." He repeated Sasuke exactly. Both Shikamaru and Sasuke rolled their eyes and Sakura fumed.

"Uhg! Naruto what is wrong with you!"

"Well? I'm not going to stand here all day Naruto. What do you want?" Shikamaru asked again.

"What can you tell us about Akasuki of the Sand?" Sasuke answered.

* * *

**R&R people come on.**


	8. Chapter 7: Akasuki and Friends

"We want some information on Akasuki of the sand." Sasuke said.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and shook his head with a sigh, crossing his arms.

"Not a chance Naruto. If Lady Tsunade didn't tell you anything what makes you think _I _will?"

Naruto instantly forgot about his resentment toward Sasuke for the moment and held out his hands in plea.

"Because you're a friend and friends don't let friends keep juicy gotta know secrets from them. Now cough it up!" Naruto replied.

"Nice try, but I put my village _before _my friends." Shikamaru smirked at Naruto like he was better than him just for saying that. This made Naruto angry.

"I'm part of the village!" Naruto argued

"It's not going to happen, just give up already will ya? You're beginning to be a pain." At this Naruto became infuriated, not only did he hate the phrase 'give up' but he was sick and tired of being treated like a piece of trash, even if it was his friend.

"So that's how its gunna be huh?!" Naruto seethed

"Naruto, calm down." Sakura said.

"What are you two here for then?" Shikamaru asked curiously. "Kinda unusual to see you all together at one time."

"I already told you what I wanted. Akasuki, who the hell is he." Sasuke said calmly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Odd," he muttered, then he looked over at Sakura. "Don't tell me you're _all_ in on this."

Sakura's cheeks suddenly turned bright red and she pushed the dirt at her feet back and forth with her toes in embarrassment. "Eh heh, heh, actually I'm-"

"She's just here cause Sasuke's here." Naruto interrupted crossing his arms and glaring at Sasuke.

"Naaruutoo!!!" Sakura growled anger taking over her bright face. Naruto ducked away and slipped past Sakura just as she threw a hard punch for his face.

"Gotta be faster than that, Sakura!" Naruto teased ducking away just in time again.

"ARHG! Can't you take anything seriously! I swear boy's never change!" She shouted in frustration.

"Not like you changed much either." Shikamaru replied snidely but before another word could be said he added to Sasuke. "What do you already know about Akasuki?"

"What!?" Naruto exclaimed popping up again back at their side. "Now that Sasuke's interested you suddenly change your mind? What the hell is this?" It was then Sakura finally caught up to him and pounded him on the head. Naruto fell to the ground and rubbed the huge bump on his head.

"Chill out and let the big kids handle this." She hissed at him. Naruto shut his mouth and simply glared at her.

"I-" Sasuke started but he stopped as he realized he didn't know anything about Akasuki at all.

"He doesn't know jack." Naruto growled getting to his feet. "Akasuki of the Sand Passed the Chunin exams all on his own faster than Gaara, perfectly too. Super talented in all three Jutsus, and Tenten said he was cute. He became a Shinobi of the Leaf and went through the ceremony with us." Naruto said.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "What else did you want to know? That's about all there _is _to know."

"Oh yeah!? Then tell me Why a Sand Ninja is taking residence in _our _village?"

Shikamaru froze. "That's complicated." He said.

"Aha! So there _is_ more to this guy! Tell me Shikamaru; tell me what the hell is going on around here!"

"Alright, alright already chill out Naruto. You wanna know why he's here? He's here because The Sand Village is having a tough time and can't afford to bring him back to their village, you happy?" Shikamaru explained all.

"Wait what?" Naruto said stunned and confused.

"Wait? Does this have something to do with Gaara?" asked Sakura concern written all over her face. "Is he ok?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "All I know is we got two letters from him, one stating that Akasuki would face the Chunin exam alone and the other explaining he couldn't go home. That's it, every time we try to send a letter back asking what's going on, we get no reply." Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this, something wasn't right.

"What!? You mean to tell me something could be terribly wrong over there and old grandma Tsunade hasn't done _anything _to try and help!?" Naruto growled getting angry easily.

"Naruto-" Sakura lifted her hand to put it on his shoulder and calm him down but Naruto batted it away.

"What the hell is wrong with her!?"

"I just told you she tried to contact them-"

"That's not good enough! We need to send somebody over there and figure out what's going on!"

"It's not that simple meat head." Sasuke said trying to intervene

"You coulda fooled me! What's so difficult about that?" Naruto shot back.

"Naruto what if they don't want help?" said Sakura

"We could cause a huge problem." Shikamaru added bored.

"They don't' _get _to decide if they want help or not, we're their friends their _allies _we help no matter what!"

"That would make them look weak,"

"Shut up Sasuke, you're not part of this, you skipped out on this part of our lives, _you_ don't get to add your two cents now!"

Sakura gasped covering her mouth in horror "Naruto!" Sasuke just stared back at Naruto with pure hatred. What made him angry more than anything was that Naruto was right. All he remembered of Gaara and his siblings was that they were enemies and an excellent challenge to help hone his skills. He wasn't there when they saved Lee, Shikamaru and Kiba's butts, or when the three standing before him saved theirs. He hadn't seen them befriend the Leaf Village and become strong allies due to the bond between the two monster boys Naruto and Gaara. And he wasn't there when Naruto took on the Akatsuki to save Gaara. What right did he have to interpret what to do in this situation? None, leaving him with no control whatsoever, and he hated being out of control.

Naruto was done with Sasuke, he turned back to Shikamaru. "I don't care who he is, I'm going to find this Akasuki guy and force him to tell me what's going on!"

"You know," came a soft musical voice, "It's not very polite to talk about people behind their backs." All eyes turned to a dark haired kid emerging from the shadows of the surrounding pines and glowing maples. The boy chuckled whimsically, "Although I'd hardly hold it against such an ignorant child such as you."

"What was that!?" Naruto growled outraged.

"You must be Naruto Uzamaki, the village idiot, so nice to finally meet you." The boy said coming closer and stopping right in front of them. Naruto fumed and Sakura quickly grabbed his collar to keep him from blowing up. Then the boy turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha, the village's pride and joy." He said very calmly.

"Not anymore." Sasuke replied suspicion rising and that sick feeling from before seeming to swallow his whole being. The boy frowned

"That's too bad." He said, then, he looked at Shikamaru, "Shikamaru Nara, we met earlier in Lady Fifth's office."

Shikamaru nodded once but scowled at the boy, also having weird suspicions. "Akasuki"

"And this must be the lovely Sakura Haruna." He said with a very cool smile. He took her hand in his and kissed it gently like a true gentleman, making Sakura blush. "What a beautiful name."

"Wh-why thank you." She giggled. "It's great to meet the famous Akasuki at last."

"The pleasure's all mine." He replied letting go of her hand. Sakura's cheeks burned brighter and she giggled more.

"Listen here buddy!" Naruto said butting in, "I gotta bone to pick with you. What's going on back at your village? Tell me why we can't get an answer from Gaara, now!" Naruto demanded.

"Well I haven't the slightest idea." Akasuki replied seemingly telling the truth, "Everything was fine when I left just two months ago. And besides, if I did know, why would you expect me to tell _you_?"

"ARHG! That does it! I knew I didn't like you from the moment I saw you. What's your problem jerk!?"

"You are." Akasuki said casually with a sigh. Sakura giggled hysterically. Naruto was stunned, mostly by Sakura's insane laughter.

"Oh Akasuki, you're so funny." She said.

Naruto's jaw dropped, "HUH!?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Sasuke sighed closing his eyes and shaking his head in disgust. Shikamaru simply raised an eyebrow.

"We'll just be going now, it was nice meeting you Akasuki, I do hope I get to see you again soon." She sighed and started to usher her two boys away. Shikamaru shook his head and followed.

As soon as they were out of sight, another dark figure emerged partly from the shadows. "That's them?" the stranger asked in a deep raspy voice. "Jus' a couple a kids." They growled.

Akasuki shook his head smiling. "They're more than that. Those four are the four most powerful children in their rank, or in higher ranks for that matter. Trust me; none of them are ones to underestimate. I've made that mistake before. I won't let it happen again."


End file.
